Port Blair, Feb 9: V Murali, a resident of Calicut, Port Blair has been operating a Waste Plastic Shredding Unit at Port Blair Municipal Council’s Solid Waste Management Centre, situated at Dollygunj, Port Blair.  

The purpose of Waste Plastic Shredding Machine is to shred plastic waste generated by the citizens of Port Blair and supply the shredded plastic to road contractors, so that they can mix it in bitumen and use the mixture to build roads. In this regard, the A&N Administration had issued an order to use shredded plastic in the construction of roads.

The unit run by V Murali is the only such unit operational under the Port Blair Municipal Council with a capacity of 500 Kgs per day which can help save around 150 tonnes of plastic every year from going to landfills. Unfortunately there seems to be no enough demand from road contractors in spite of the A&N Administration’s order. Presently the unit is not able to even sell a bare minimum quantity of 1500 kgs of shredded plastic because of reasons obvious.

Finding it difficult to sustain the unit, Murali has marked a letter to the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration requesting to enforce the use of plastic in road construction more strictly and issue orders to the concerned to implement the process in actual at the ground level.

Murali also mentions that he is on a mission to reduce dumping plastic waste in landfills from Port Blair city to zero and his future plans are to install more machines and upcycle plastic waste to make footpath paving tiles, flower pots, and other usable items and also to provide employment to few citizens of Port Blair. But for that it’s very necessary that the present Waste Plastic Shredding Unit is to be continued.